The industry of patient lifts has grown exponentially over the past few years. Initially, such devices were primarily located in homes of disabled people. Presently, patient lifts are placed in hospital rooms, physical therapy centers, senior centers and other similar facilities nationwide. Along with the growth of the patient-lift industry, much improvements have been made to the patient-lift devices themselves to better serve needs of disabled individuals and their care givers.
The evolution of patient lifts went through a number of stages. The earliest patient lifts are secured to a single overhead track with bumper end-stops at the end of the track. Such single track runs from a position over a bed to a bathroom. These early patient lifts are either manually pushed along the track or powered by a motorized roller assembly. Later systems have tracks with switch assemblies to allow service for more than one bed or to provide access to multiple destinations such as the toilet and shower and the like.
Next generation is room-covering units including tracks located along opposite sides of the room with a perpendicular track therebetween. These units are equipped with rollers for riding the two tracks along opposite sides of the room with the patient lift mounted on the perpendicular track allowing for X and Y-direction coverage of the entire room.
The room-covering units have been further improved to include a switch gear at one or both ends of the perpendicular track. Such switch-gear end of the perpendicular track has been designed for engagement with another fixed track at the threshold of an adjacent room. The engagement occurs when an aligned mechanically-operated switch is pressed to mechanically engage a lock assembly and open the “gates” at the end of the perpendicular track. A fixed-threshold track (combi-lock) holds both engaging tracks in alignment to allow a transition of the patient-lift device into another room which usually has a similar room-covering track unit for full access to the adjacent room.
The most immediate need for a mechanical safety device has been created by the introduction of room-covering units that include combi-lock assemblies for traveling through a threshold to another room. If a failure of such device ocurrs while not in alignment with another track, the patient-lift device would be free to fall off the end of the track. This may result in a potentially catastrophic event for a suspended patient supported by the patient-lift device dropping the patient and having the unit fall on top of either the patient or an assistant or both. There is a need for a substantially fail-proof safety means preventing patient-lift devices from falling off the tracks.
In the earlier versions of the patient-lift devices secured to a single overhead track with bumper end-stops at the track ends, the bumper end-stops are bolted in a sandwich fashion which has been recognized as insufficient. In the past few years, these bumper end-stops have been required to be additionally pinned. However, any such attachment is removable and, if not present, could cause the same possible catastrophic situation.
While in the full-room covering units with a perpendicular track movable along two side tracks there is no danger of the patient-lift device falling off the perpendicular seamless track, the side tracks have only bumper stops at their ends. Therefore, if a failure occurs, the perpendicular track along with the patient-lift device may fall off the failed end of the side track resulting in the same unfortunate situation as above.
It is clear that any increase in safety to the public, particularly disabled patients, is always desirable and welcome. It is, therefore, desirable to equip patient-lift systems with safety means designed to arrest motion of the patient-lift devices at the end of an open track to prevent falling of the device off the track.
It is further desirable to have a safety device that would recognize presents of the track in front of a moving portion of the patient-lift system. Such safety device would be imperative for public and patient safety and would greatly further the evolution of the patient-lift young industry.